Haqeeqat.Org Face it…

Ex-Generals Demand Open Trial Of Musharraf

By Asad Muhammad Khan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 1 June 2008 (The Post) - The [Pakistan] Ex- Servicemen Society, a group of retired Army generals and some former Army chiefs, has demanded an open trial of [Traitor] Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution and announced that they would join the long march if he (illegal president) did not resign before June 10, 2008.

The Article 6 was added into the Constitution upon recommendation of one of the Members of Justice Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission, Justice Yaqoob Ali, according to which the abrogator of the Constitution must be tried for high treason and sentenced to death.

==================================================

Ex-Servicemen Want Musharraf To Step Down

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 31 May 2008 (The News): Ex-Servicemen have demanded that [Tyrant] Pervez Musharraf must quit office immediately so that people themselves could choose their [new] President.

Addressing the meeting of Ex-Servicemen Society, its representatives demanded [Dictator] that Musharraf must step down by June 10 [2008] and also announced joining the lawyers’ movement with its 250,000 members.

They said that [Killer] Musharraf be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution.

“If [illegal] President Musharraf fails to resign by June 10, [2008], about 250,000 members of the Society will also take part in the long march to be arranged by lawyers community,” they warned. The movement will continue till the restoration of judiciary to the November 2, 2007 position, they added.

==================================================

Ex-Servicemen Society Calls for Impeachment of [illegal] President Musharraf, Vacation of Army House by him

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, 31 May 2008 (OINN) - Ex-Servicemen Society has called for immediate vacation of Army House by [Criminal] Pervez Musharraf, his trail and impeachment, and restoration of November 2 judiciary.

Former chief of ISI, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Asad Durrani, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Hamid Gul and others said this while talking to the journalists after Ex-Service Society meeting here Saturday. The meeting was held at the residence of Brig. (retd.) Mian Mehmood. Gen. (retd.) [Mirza] Aslam Beg, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Hamid Gul, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Jamshed Gulzar Kiani and others attended the meeting.

Addressing the press conference, former ISI chief Lt. Gen. (retd.) Asad Durrani said [unlawful] president Musharraf had shed [Army] uniform, therefore, he should immediate vacate Army House as it is only meant for Army Chief while the conspiracies being hatched in Army House are creating wrong impression about Army.

An independent judicial commission be set up to review all the steps taken by [Tyrant] Musharraf from Kargil War to other incidents. Action should be taken against him over all the wrong steps taken by him, he demanded. He said renowned nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan be released immediately and all the restrictions imposed on him be lifted.

Responding to a question, he said new government should take up the matter of missing persons seriously and take concrete steps for their recovery.

The mandate given by the people to new government on February 18 [2008] is not being acknowledged, he regretted.

To another question, he claimed Ex-Servicemen Society is being backed by 250,000 ex-servicemen. “Our society will participate in the ongoing movement of legal fraternity for restoration of [all illegally] deposed judges,” he announced.

Responding to a question, he said former prime minister Shaukat Aziz be brought back to Pakistan and he be held accountable for the economic crisis the country is passing through.

He warned if [Dictator] Musharraf [Parliament or Supreme Court] did not repeal [Article] 58-2-b, then severe reaction would come.

==================================================

[Pakistan Army Lt. General] Ali Kuli Khan Joins Anti-Musharraf Movement

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 1 June 2008 (The News) - Retired military generals, who have become active against [Traitor] Pervez Musharraf, have vowed to work for the restoration of an independent judiciary even if Musharraf quits power.

In a strongly-worded message to the political forces on Saturday, they said Musharraf must be held accountable for his misdeeds. The retired Army officers, who met at the residence of Brig. (retd.) Mian Mohammad Mahmud, resolved that they would continue to play their role in the Society, which wanted the return of [unlawfully] deposed [Pakistan Supreme Court] Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The presence of Lt. Gen. (retd.) Ali Quli Khan, who was supposed to become the Army Chief instead of General Pervez Musharraf but fell victim to palace intrigues, in the meeting was specially noticed. [PML-N Chief Muhammad] Nawaz [Sharif] always regretted his decision for giving weight to the advice against Ali Kuli Khan.

The other prominent participants of the meeting were Lt. Gen. (retd.) Asad Durrani, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Salahuddin Tirimzi, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Hameed Gul, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Abdul Qayyum, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Jamshed Kiyani, Maj-Gen. (retd.) Shafeeq Ahmed, Maj-Gen. (retd.) M. Arshad Malik, Maj-Gen. (retd.) Hidayat Niazi, Maj-Gen. (retd.) MA Zuberi, Brig. (retd.) Khadim Hussain, Brig. (retd.) Mian Mehmood, Brig. (retd.) Taj, Brig. (retd.) Abdus Salam Akhtar, Brig. (retd.) Arbi Khan, Lt. Col. (retd.) Dalel and Capt. (retd.) Zaheer uddin Baber.

Briefing the media, Brig. (retd.) Salam Akthar said the meeting worked out a plan for participation in the long march, being organised by the lawyers’ community on June 10 [2008]. The ex-servicemen have volunteered to mobilise maximum number of retired Army men for this event. “The gravity of the situation is such that we can no longer remain spectators and have to play the part required at this critical juncture,” an appeal sent out to the ex-servicemen says.

The group, however, clarified that ex-servicemen are not part of any political group. “We are playing our role in the best national interest. Being part of the civil society, we are deeply concerned with the crises, which Pakistan is facing currently as a result of the unconstitutional and illegal acts of Pervez Musharraf on Nov. 3, [2007]” Brig. Salam said.

==================================================

Ex-Generals Demand Trial Of Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 25 May 2008 (Khaleej Times) - The Society for Ex-Servicemen in its meeting attended by former services chifes, retired
generals and other senior [military] officers yesterday called for formation of a judicial council to investigate [Devil] Pervez Musharraf’s conduct as Army Chief and [illegal] president since 1998.

Lt. Gen. (retd) Asad Durrani, former ISI chief, talking to reporters after the meeting said the commission should probe events including Kargil war, military operations in Balochistan, Waziristan, Swat and Lal Masjid [Mosque], May 12 carnage in Karachi and the terrorist attacks on return of Benazir Bhutto and her assassination.

Musharraf’s role in all these happenings should be investigated to determine culpability.

Durrani said the meeting demanded that Musharraf must vacate the Army House in order to dispel the impression that the Army is backing his manipulations and intrigues against the new democratic order.

In a related development, the PML-N also released a chargesheet for Musharraf’s impeachment. These include subversion of Constitution, Kargil War, military operation, purge of judiciary and involvement in terrorist acts in Karachi and Islamabad.

– http://forum.atimes.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11875

– PW: http://www.PakistanWeekly.com

– DW: http://www.DictatorshipWatch.com

– AHRC: http://pakistan.ahrchk.net

Daily Jinnah Karachi, August 1, 2007 and Daily Ummat, August 1, 2007

The following two reports from two different Urdu dailies in Paksitan report that the flies sitting on coffins of the victims of lal Masjid massacre were also dying. The government authorities said that the flies died becuause of the chemicals used over the dead bodies. Yesterday when some relatives retrived coffins of their loved ones to move to their respective areas, they found thousands of dead dlies inside the graves and on the coffins. The bodies were burnt and disfigured. Relatives of the victims invited media reporters present on the occasion to witness it for themselves. It was reported the flies were still dying after a few minutes of sitting on the coffins. Moreover, bodies in the coffins were almost melted with some water and blood stll visible.

اسلام آباد( خبر نگار) سانحہ لال مسجد، جامعہ حفصہ ميں شہيد ہونيوالے افراد کی لاشوں کو ٹھکانے لگانے يا ان کو مارنے کيلئے فاسفورس کيميکل کے استعمال کا انکشاف ہوا ہے جس سے قبرستان ميں تابوتوں سے جلی اور گلی ہوئی لاشيں دیکھی گئی ہيں تابوتوں اور قبروں کے اندر بيٹھنے والی مکھيوں کو مرے ہوئے اور بيٹھنے پر مر جاتے ہوئے ديکھا گيا ہے حکومتی ذمہ داران کا موقف ہے کہ لاشوں کو محفوظ اور بدبو سے بچانے کيلئے جو کيميکل استعمال کيا گيا ہے اس سے مکھياں مری ہيں گزشتہ روز جب اسلام آباد انتظاميہ سانحہ لال مسجد، جامعہ حفصہ کے شکار طلباء ، افراد کی لاشيں H-11 قبرستان سے نکالی جا رہی تھیں تو لاشيں جلی ہوئی اور گلی ہوئی تھیں ان تابوتوں کے اندر اور قبروں ميں ہزاروں مکھياں مری ہوئی تھیں لاشوں کے ورثاء نے موجود ميڈيا کو يہ صورتحال دکھائی اور حکومت پر الزام لگايا کہ اس نے لال مسجد اور جامعہ حفصہ کے اندر فاسفورس بم استعمال کئے ہيں۔ انہوں نے بتايا کہ جو مکھياں اب بھی ادھر بيٹھ رہی ہيں وہ تھوڑی دير بعد مر جاتی ہيں ان کا الزام تھا کہ پھر لاشوں کو ناقابل شناخت بنانے اور گوشت کو گلنے کيلئے کوئی کيميکل استعمال کيا گيا ہے ورثاء نے چيف جسٹس آف پاکستان سے اس کا نوٹس لينے کی اپيل کی۔ جب موقع پر موجود حکومتی ذمہ داران سے پوچھا گیا تو انہوں نے کہا کہ ان کا اندازہ ہے کہ لاشوں کو بدبو اور محفوظ کرنے کيلئے کوئی کيميکل استعمال کيا گيا ہو گا جس سے مکھياں مر رہی ہيں۔ جب ميڈيا نے خود قبروں کے اندر تہہ ميں ديکھا تو وہاں مکھيوں کے مرنے کی تہہ ديکھی جا سکتی تھی۔ دريں اثناء اسلام آباد انتظاميہ نے سانحہ لال مسجد و جامعہ حفصہ ميں شہيد ہونيوالے سات افراد کی لاشيں ان کے ورثاء کے حوالے کر دی ہيں جو وہ اپنے اپنے علاقوں ميں لے گئے ہيں يا انہوں نے H-11 قبرستان ميں ہی قبر ميں رہنے دينے کو ترجيح دی ہے گزشتہ روز رحمن علی ايبٹ آباد، عبداللہ شہزاد چارسدہ، عبدالرحمن راولپنڈی، مصباح اللہ چارسدہ، امين اللہ صوابی کی لاشيں ان کے ورثاء کے حوالے کر دی گئی ہيں ان کے ورثاء نے متذکرہ بالا لاشيں وصول کر لی ہيں ان ميں يار بادشاہ اور جمیل بادشاہ جن کا تعلق مہمند ايجنسی سے ہے بھی شامل ہيں۔ ايبٹ آباد سے تعلق رکھنے والے محمد زاہد کی قبر کو اس کے ورثاء نے نہيں کھلوايا بلکہ قبر پر اکتفا کرکے اسے ادھر ہی رہنے دیا ہے جبکہ متذکرہ بالا باقی لاشوں کے ورثاء نے ناقابل شناخت لاشوں کو حکومتی يقين دہانی کہ انہی کے پياروں کی لاشيں ہيں پر وصول کر ليا ہے۔ جبکہ لال مسجد کے معزول خطيب مولانا عبدالعزيز کے عزيزوں مولانا انعام اللہ اور عطاء محمد کی ميتيں ناقابل شناخت اور گوشت کے لوتھڑوں کی وجہ سے ان کے ورثاء نے لاشيں وصول کرنے سے انکار کر دیا ہے اور کہا ہے کہ حکومت کے ڈی اين اے رپورٹ پر انہيں اعتماد نہيں آزادانہ ڈی اين اے ٹيسٹ کيلئے وہ سپريم کورٹ سے رجوع کريں گے۔ مولانا عبدالعزيز اور علامہ عبدالرشيد غازی کے ماموں زاد عطاء محمد اور پھوپھی زاد مولانا انعام اللہ کی قبريں کھودی گئیں تو ان کے عزيزوں عثمان مزاری اور ديگر موجود تھے مولانا انعام اللہ کی مبينہ قبر ميں تابوت ميں گوشت کے تين ٹکڑے الگ الگ پڑے تھے تابوت ميں کم از کم تين انچ تک پانی کھڑا تھا جس ميں خون بھی ملا ہوا نظر آرہا تھا چہرے يا کسی جگہ سے اس کی شناخت ممکن نہ تھی اس پر ورثاء نے کہا کہ يہ ان کے عزيز کی لاش نہيں ہے ان کی اطلاع کے مطابق وہ زندہ گرفتار ہوئے تھے ان کو غلط لاش دے کر خاموش کروایا جا رہا ہے اس لئے ہم يہ لاش نہيں ليں گے اسی طرح عطاء محمد کی قبر کھودی گئی تو اس تابوت ميں ايک سر، ايک بازو اور گوشت کے کچھ ٹکڑے تھے وہ لاش ورثاء نے وصول کرنے سے انکار کر ديا۔ اس کے بعد دونوں لاشيں انہی قبروں ميں دفن کر دی گئیں۔

~*~*~*~*~*

Daily Ummat, August 1, 2007 Report below.

Teh following report repeats the same facts with a bit more details about each grave and the content there in. In some coffins there were three bodies. some bodies were burt, others had melted. Some graves had dead flies, others had not.

There continues to be a strong debate on how Musharraf should have handled this situation, but what surprises me is the inhumanity of this attack, dexterity of the assault should have meant targeted exchange of fire maybe an occasional rubber bullet to pacify the milder militants, but the indiscriminate use of chemical weapons, by the National Army against its own people. Is jaw dropping serious, its akin to the mass murder which happened in Karachi on May 12th when the Army headed off to the barracks leaving the city at the hands of ruthless killers for six hours..

Chemical Weapons used on Lal Masjid

Posted at Teeth Maestro: On 12th July, AAJ Tv boradcasted a program of Live with Talat in which Talat Hussain visited Jamia Hafsa. While touring the bullet ridden compound a number of military personal hovered around, at a certain point Talat Hussain asked an accompanying Army personal about all the evidence of smoke around the area asking, “Why is there so much smoke?”, the solider replied “WP”, Talat put another question “Please explain WP?”, the solider answered “White Phosphorus.”

White Phosphorus is a flare / smoke producing incendiary weapon which is also used as an offensive Anti-Personnel flame compound capable of causing serious burns or death. White phosphorus weapons are controversial today because of its potential use against humans, for whom one-tenth of a gram is a deadly dose and according to the Geneva Convention which was later amended by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons signed into effect in 1997, expressively prohibits the use against civilians. White Phosphorus weapons have been used in the recent past by Israel in Lebanon and US and UK in Iraq, but probably the first time ever by a an army against its own people

Article 1 of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (Wikipedia) defines an incendiary weapon as ‘any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target’. The same protocol also prohibits the use of incendiary weapons against civilians or in civilian areas. However, the use against military targets outside civilian areas is not explicitly banned by any treaty.

There continues to be a strong debate on how Musharraf should have handled this situation, but what surprises me is the inhumanity of this attack, dexterity of the assault should have meant targeted exchange of fire maybe an occasional rubber bullet to pacify the milder militants, but the indiscriminate use of chemical weapons, by the National Army against its own people. Is jaw dropping serious, its akin to the mass murder which happened in Karachi on May 12th when the Army headed off to the barracks leaving the city at the hands of ruthless killers for six hours..

To understand the gravity of the situation one has only to look at these two images of burnt bodies the sight is excruciatingly painful, when the Americans used White Phosphorous on the victims in Fallujah back in April 2004.

If you look at the top most image which appeared in Dawn on 13th July (link) one sees the classic signs of a high intensity flame, which reached astounding temperatures to melt the steel framework of ceiling fans, one must also noted that the public was not shown the remains of numerous people killed in the disaster and quickly buried them in concealed wooden coffins the next day.

I am shocked and stunned at what has just happened, it should be enough for the world to wake up and ask for an unconditional removal of the dictator

http://www.dictatorshipwatch.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=949&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Daily Jang

July 25, 2007

The following article from Daily Jang, July 25, 2007 explains how the military regime deliberately took provocative actions over a period of more than six months and in the process didn’t allow any solution even if everyone on the ground agreed upon certain issues. The write up summarises all the available evidence that leads to the conclusion that Musharraf regime took all the steps it could to make the massacre inevitable

-

The following is an in depth interview conducted by the highly respected Dr. Sahid Masood at the Lal masjid, with both the female students and the late Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Masood was fired from the ARY channel(thanks to “pressure” from Musharraf’s goons) and moved to GEO TV. Contrary to popular misinformation, this affair started after 7/7 when Musharraf ordered a raid on the masjid(at the “request” of the British government to crack down on madrassas) in which commandos fired upon and severely beat the female students(who consequently retaliated in the second raid with batons and ejected the thugs). I’ve provided a short summary for each video segment(if any of you tech wizards can add subtitles, I’ll do a full translation).

Comments: Interestingly everything is on the public record; all interview; all eye witness accounts from before and after the Lal Masjid massacre and authentic press and electronic media reports which can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Lal Masjid massacre was planned and conducted by the military regime. Nevertheless the press and political leadership are totally silent as if nothing has happend. No one is asking for bringing the culprits to justice.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Lal Masjid massacre Part 2 : The Women of Lal Masjid

The following is an in depth interview conducted by the highly respected Dr.Shahid Masood at the Lal masjid, with both the female students and the late Abdul Rashid Ghazi. This interview is from March of this year on the “Meray Mutabiq” program( urdu for “in my opinion”). Masood was fired from the ARY channel(thanks to “pressure” from Musharraf’s goons) and moved to GEO TV. Contrary to popular misinformation, this affair started after 7/7 when Musharraf ordered a raid on the masjid(at the “request” of the British government to crack down on madrassas) in which commandos fired upon and severely beat the female students(who consequently retaliated in the second raid with batons and ejected the thugs). I’ve provided a short summary for each video segment(if any of you tech wizards can add subtitles, I’ll do a full translation)

Introductory segment. Dr. Masood raises the question of how far can people in civil society go before breaking the law. Ghazi explains that there is no law and order in Pakistan and that his students only took action(against the brothel) after all other options were exhausted. Masood asks Ghazi if he will forcibly enforce public morality, to which Ghazi responds this is an entirely different matter where criminal activity was taking place out in the open, with the authorities sitting on their hands despite repeated complaints. Hence the citizens arrest, detainment, and subsequent closure of the brothel with the departure of its madame from the area.One of the ladies asks where is the law, and how its the duty of individuals in society to make corrections with their hands, citing Hadith. Some statements in english here. An explanation of why the sisters started to use batons in self-defense after repeated raids and physical assaults. Ghazi dismisses the accusation of “talibization” as a smear tactic propagated in the western press, especially after 7/7. We also learn that 6500 students are enrolled at the masjid. Concluding segment. More details of how rangers beat woman during the initial raid. Ghazi states that any assault would be “a great mishap.”

Video:

A memorable interview of Martyred Maulana Abul-Rasheed Ghazi with CNN followed by Sir. Aetzaz Ahsan’s interview…

Link to the file above…

Audio/Video: (Urdu)

Dr. Shahid Masood & Justice (R) Maulana Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahib

-
Link to the above file…

Audio/Video (Urdu):

What really happened? by Mufti-é-Azam Pakistan Maulana Rafi Usmani

-

Part 1:

-

Link to the above file…

Part 2:

Link to the above file…

July 20, 2007

The first video is of women students at the Jamia Hafsa - they talk about a sense of peace and tranquility (sakina, sukoon) and barka, even while the puppet regime’s (la) army was bombing the masjid. And they clearly state that they were never held against their will - nor did they have a “huge amount” of arms. The puppet regime had repeatedly stated that their was a huge amount of arms inside the masjid - this is nothing more than a rehash of the “weapons of mass destruction” nonsense that Busharraf learnt from his master.

The liberals/progressives/moderates etc. have been deliberately asking the wrong question about “why Lal Masjid was allowed to accumulate a huge amount of arms”? They have asked this wrong question to 1) provide an underhanded justification for their support, and lack of outrage over the Lal Masjid massacre, and 2) to continue their Islamophobic campaign, and to provide a pretext for egging on the puppet regime to slaughter even more Islamic groups in the country (maybe even ultimately inviting the US neo-cons to bomb and invade the country).

Fact is that there was no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and there were none in Lal Masjid.

Why then was the Lal Masjid attacked, and over a 1000 martyred? The second interview, of a mother of one of the women students tells it like it is: “… by evening the Americans will be given a gift (by Musharraf) and the Americans will give Musharraf a palace of gold…”

Save Your Children from Pharaoh Musharraf

Rubia Faisal

Martyrdom of Thousand Children of Jamia Hafsa: A Question Mark

Senator Sami-Ul-Haq

-

AKORA KHATTAK: The head of JUI (S), senator Maulana Sami-ul-Haq has termed the brutal and heartless martyrdom of thousands of children of Jamia Hafsa as unsolved mystery.

He strongly denounced the brutal suppression of Ghazi family and their justified demands, terming them as a stigma for Pakistan, which would always remain embossed on its integrity.

The activists and workers of JUI, mosque rectors, (S) held Nationwide demonstrations and protests against the recent action taken against Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa alongwith martyrdom of Abdul Rashid Ghazi.

The rally in Akora Khattak was led by prominent JUI (S) Ulema who termed assaults on mosques and seminaries as inviting the wrath of God Almighty, while similar rallies were also held in Mansehra, Karak, Peshawar, Hayatabad In which prominent Ulema strongly condemned the attack on Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid, terming the imposition of enlightened and moderate philosophy as a bid to damage the pristine values of Islam.

They accused that the recent attack was a series of steps being taken to appease the west, and has diverted the government towards bloody vendettas and brutalities towards its citizens.

The Ulema contended that seminaries preach and impart Shariah based concepts of brotherhood, harmony, peace, lawfulness, and religious norms, and not terrorism and extremism as being claimed by government.

They cautioned that this act of government has widened the never-ending gulf of hatred between army and masses, which could and would never be able to be filled, and said that this feud has also unveiled the true intentions of Musharraf and his cronies.

While paying their glowing tributes to Abdul Rashid Ghazi, they maintained that his sacrifice would never go waste.

Lal Masjid: What really happened?
by Abid Ullah Jan
July 15, 2007

-

“Musharraf wanted to diffuse the multi-parties conference in London [a meeting of dozens of Pakistani politicians]. Before that he was using Lal Mosque to distract [from] the judicial crisis.”

The so-called Lal Masjid operation is officially over but it leaves the military regime and Pakistan in a major security, political, moral and religious crisis. Based on the available information, we can clearly see as to what really happened. Following are the bare minimum facts that can be accommodated in a short article. It is, however, not difficult to dig the associated facts and prepare a legal case against the culprits of this bloody adventure.

The pro-regime analysts claim that all the damning information that exposes the regime is fantastic and damning allegations, facts mixed with fantasy to create dramatic PR affects. They want to make the public believe that the following are mere perceptions and have nothing to do with the reality:

• That there are over 1000 casualties of students, mostly women and children and the government have removed the bodies for secret burials.

• There were no weapons in the complex and the governments have planted them after the operation.

• There were no terrorists or foreign fighters inside the complex and the government is only using this excuse to build its cases.

• The operation has been carried out on the orders of US by General Musharraf to please West to seek a re-election for next five years.

As far the number of casualties are concerned, it is not just the clerics who are kicking dust that 1000 casualties have taken place within students of the seminary, there are “editorials” and “analysis” by credible and neutral journalists who have come to the conclusion after putting all available statistics side by side that “at least 902 and at the most 1956 people have been killed.”

Among the victims were “orphans”, people from as far as “Azad Kashmir” and other remote areas. These include families with little of no resources to afford to come to Islamabad, get together in one place and campaign for their dead ones in these circumstances.

Relative of the victims, who “are already in Islamabad” are running from pillar to post to no avail. Camps have already been established for the victims from Kashmir to assess the actual number of missing people. Amid the reports of mass burial people have already lost hope to find their loved ones.

Not allowing the media at the time of operation makes some sense. However, not allowing them to enter the mosque immediately after the operation and a “ban on media personnel to visit hospital” and cold storage for dead bodies simply shows that there was too much for the regime to hide and plant.

It would be ridiculous on the part of relatives of the victims to insist looking in the mass graves for their loved ones, which the regime should have handed over to the relative in the first place.

An announcement to come and recognize your loved ones in the dead bodies at cold storage would have brought many to the front to show the estimate of missing people. May be that’s why the government was in a hurry and started digging and burying during the night. The laborers working on the graves have told BBC of finding “two and more bodies in one coffin.” And logically, more than 100 mass graves for 102 victims (as per the military regimes claim) just do not make any sense.

Dawn editorial on July 11, 2007 states:

“Eighty per cent of the operation,” to quote an army spokesman, had been completed to expel the terrorists from the Lal Masjid when these lines were written, and Abdul Rashid Ghazi had been killed, though resistance from hard-core militants was still going on, with the death toll in the vicinity of 150.”

Note the figures of 150 dead by the time when 80 % operation was completed. And come back to the government’s figure of just 50 after 100% operation that was regurgitated by all the national and international media for a long time after completion of the bloody drama.

For the sake of discussion, even if we take the official figures of casualty as true, aren’t more than 100, including women and children, a significant number?

Couldn’t these lives be saved?

Of course, they “could have been saved” provided General Musharraf the had not “ordered operation before the end of negotiations” as we can see from “numerous reports” and personal testimony of those who were involved in the negotiations.

Mufti Usmani who was part of the delegation affirms that the two sides had reached an agreement. They wrote it down. In fact, the government Minister of Information inked it and took it share with General Musharraf, who rejected it and when Chaudhry Shujaat returned “things were back to the square one.” Moreover, at the same time, the military personnel on the ground “started harassing them to leave” as it was already too late for them to begin the operation.

This has been proved conclusively that the bloodbath at the mosque could have been avoided but Musharraf had other nefarious designs and malicious objectives to achieve. The “daily Ummat, July 11 report ” and interview with the two individuals, who were part of the final delegation, is part of the evidence against General Musharraf. Ghazi’s “last communication to the media” is far more credible than all the government reports.

The deceased Ghazi could be evil, so to say, but at the very least he would not lie to three TV channels “just moments before his death.” He said it repeatedly that he wanted the government to allow media to come in to see for itself if what the regime was claiming had any connection with the reality.

If the government were true in its claims to foreign fighters and a cache of weapons in the mosque, it should have let the media in. What was it afraid of? It is not a blunder on the part of government. It was part of the strategic planning. With media’s access, the regime’s case would have fallen apart and it’s lies about foreign fighters and weapons would have been exposed leaving it with no justification to launch the bloody assault and score points with its foreign masters. The negotiating ulema have also refuted the regimes claim that Ghazi has asked for safe passage for foreigners.

According to a Pak-Tribune story:

“They further said that Maulana Muhammad Saleem Ullah Khan including his colleagues Maulana Muhammad Rafi Usmani, Maulana Abdul Razzaq Skinder, Maulana Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari, Maulana Zahid-ur-Rashadi and others arrived in Islamabad on 9th July to settle this issue and called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML-Q chief Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain and other ministers and formulated the unanimously joint strategy on which Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi showed his consent.

They said that at final stage, Ch. Shujaat Hussain insisted to send the agreement to Awan-e-Saddar for final approval, and when this agreement returned, it was altered. When informed about this new formula, “Maulana Ghazi refused to accept it.”

It proves that Musharraf simply didn’t want “a peaceful resolution.” The week long stand off was only part of the drama to show that his junta is showing restrain and negotiating. That was absolutely not the case despite the “public statement of the Ghazi Aziz” with the expression of hope on July 5 after the “deceptive arrest of Maolana Aziz” and Ghazi’s discussions with Chaudhry Shujaat that the crisis will be resolved in a few hours time.

It also proves that all the people involved in this agreement were not fool, or blind, or terrorist and extremists, or RAW agents. However, Mush tried to show that he was above their collective wisdom and what he thought was right and above their agreement.

By amending the joint agreement, Mush simply told all concerned that the final word belongs to him, else all are dead. That is what he did. This is what all tyrant dictators do.

The pro-regime media has a different story to tell. Dawn July 11 editorial says, “Abdul Rashid Ghazi refused to show any flexibility. Even Maulana Fazlur Rahman accused Ghazi of intransigence. Those who went to negotiate with him included Maulana Abdul Sattar and Bilqees Edhi and some of the country’s respected ulema, but Ghazi remained obdurate. He and his militants fired on parents who had gone to the mosque to meet their children.”

Who the editors of Dawn are trying to fool? Did we not personally hear Ghazi on Geo 24 hours before the operation, when he was so confident after talking to Chudhry Shujaat that he predicted everything to be settled within a couple of hours. He said it repeatedly that he had agreed to all the conditions.

Did we not read “the reports” about Ghazi’s offer to surrender? And what about Asia Times July 10, 2007 report mentioning these facts:

“‘Yes, the talks were successful. The draft was written. Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was to be allowed a safe passage, but then the draft was sent to the president and he amended it. Things were back to Square 1 and the talks failed,’ a dejected Grand Mufti Usmani told Asia Times Online by telephone. He rarely leaves his seminary in Karachi, but was specially invited to Islamabad by the government for the talks.

“Asia Times Online contacts claim that the situation was complicated by the sudden appearance of a delegation of members of Parliament belonging to the government’s coalition partners, the Muttahida Quami Movement. They are believed to have met with a US official at his official residence, after which the situation changed within an hour.

There is no reason for us to believe the one-sided, pro-government, biased reports, which is no less than an attempt to fool the nation and the world.”

According to “Ishtiaq Ali Mehkri”, news editor at Geo TV, the Lal Masjid standoff was a “masterpiece of intelligence agencies” and an “eyewash” to deflect attention from issues of national importance, especially the Supreme Court hearing of the petition of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, whom Musharraf summarily suspended as chief justice.

Mekhri’s views were endorsed by Hamid Mir, senior political analyst at the same TV channel. “Musharraf wanted to diffuse the multi-parties conference in London [a meeting of dozens of Pakistani politicians]. Before that he was using Lal Mosque to distract [from] the judicial crisis.”

According to Mir, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, who was sent to negotiate with the mosque administration, and who was about to resolve the issue in April, was “asked by someone very important to delay it”.

There is so much behind the façade of fighting extremism. To save the nation, to save the armed forces and Pakistan, we need to be persistent and press for answers to all the questions which are still left unanswered. At the same time, based on the available, undeniable facts and witnesses, we need to make the regime accountable and make the culprits pay the price because not only the blood of innocent civilians lie on their hands but it has give a perfect justification to the Islamophobes to prepare a case for an all out war on Pakistan.

http://usa.mediamonitors.net/layout/set/print/content/view/full/44962